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Unfortunately for the Hedgefund Billionaire, he is unaware of the fate of the 1980s Yankees led by George Steinbrenner. No matter how much money you have, you can’t buy a League Pennant or a World Series.
On Wednesday, June 28th, Steve Cohen sat down before a game against the Brewers and addressed the fans and the media about the 2023 season. Cohen has blown through the Luxury Tax threshold the past three offseasons where he has gone all in.
“All is not lost yet but it’s getting late,” said Cohen when addressing the media on Wednesday, “I'm preparing my management team for all possibilities. If they don't get better, we have decisions to make at the trade deadline. That's not my preferred end result. We're preparing all contingencies.”
Cohen tried to remain positive as he knows the roster is full of superstars and soon-to-be Hall of Famers on baseball's most lucrative payroll ever, but he also remains realistic when talking about the possibility of making some difficult moves.
"I already considered the money spent," Cohen said. "In an unfortunate circumstance, if I can find some ways to improve our farm system, that's the path we take. 'Cause I'm willing to do it."
The Mets were set to lose homegrown talent and potential Hall of Fame pitcher Jacob deGrom to free agency as Cohen was unwilling to spend on an aging pitcher with injury concerns.
To replace deGrom as he departed for Texas, Steve Cohen decided to pay a king's ransom for the services of Justin Verlander. Verlander became the highest paid baseball player based on annual salary in league history at the ripe age of 40. He is six years older than deGrom and also has a recent injury history of his own.
So far, the $44 million per year man has done nothing but disappoint in Queens. An ERA of 4.50 and inconsistent play hasn’t helped them at all this year. This will be his worst year as a pro if he keeps this current pace of play up.
Cohen even managed to persuade all-star shortstop Carlos Correa to spurn the San Francisco Giants, although he would go back on the deal due to his injury history that holds many issues in the long-term for the Mets.
The “Golden Goose” of last offseason, Max Scherzer, hasn’t been much better as he has been on and off the injured list in his short Mets career. He hasn’t pitched consistently either as he is also on pace to have another down season in Queens.
The Mets have also spent on pitcher Jose Quintana who had a career revival in 2022 with the Pirates and Cardinals. Quintana is yet to even play for the Mets and will be out until July or August.
The starting pitching has been a nightmare for the Mets, overpaid and underperforming. What about the offense? That might be even worse than the pitching has been.
Francisco Lindor has regressed offensively since he broke into the league and last year is looking more and more like a fluke than the new normal. Lindor appears to have forgotten how to hit from the left side of the plate and he also has a $341 million contract that the Mets are tied into until 2032. The glove will always be there for Lindor, but they will need more than just a good defender for the hefty price tag they are paying him.
He needs to step up but so do other prized free agent signings Starling Marte and Mark Cahna have all been disappointing in 2023.
Some people may say “So what, the Mets are off to a slow start. What’s the big deal?” The big deal is that the Mets, who have the highest payroll in baseball by a country mile, are now closer to the last place Washington Nationals – who are openly trying to lose – than the first place Atlanta Braves. This feels eerily similar to the ‘80s Yankees who spent copious amounts of money and never won a World Series.
“It's been incredibly frustrating," Cohen said about the team he has constructed. "I watch every game, I watch what's going on. Would I have expected us to be in this position at the beginning of the season? No. But here we are. It's kind of weird. It's kind of strange to me. I don't know if the players are anxious. I don't know if they're pressing."
The Mets also have some hope as the young core of Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez, Mark Vientos, and Ronny Marucio look like they all could be the next group of homegrown superstars. However, they have missed out on some of their biggest prospects due to trading them away for bigger pieces.
Andres Gimenez was a sneaky MVP candidate in 2022 for the Guardians; he could still be a Met and under years of team control for years. But the Mets chose to go out and grab Francisco Lindor for a premium haul. A guy like Gimenez would be a real help to a lineup looking for help and consistency.
In a similar move to the Lindor trade, the Javier Baez trade in 2021 looks like a total miss on the Mets end. The Mets gave up former first round pick and top 100 prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong who looks like a budding superstar with the Chicago Cubs.
Baez was horrific as a New York Met and the fans turned on him immediately. They booed and jeered him endlessly till he was run out of town despite having a .299 batting average with 22 RBI’s in 47 games in Queens. Baez was more remembered for having a poor attitude and booing the fans after his initial struggles with the Mets, leading them to boo him even more.
Hindsight is 20-20 but at the same time you can’t be shipping off potential cornerstone pieces who can contribute for almost a decade before hitting free agency for older superstars or guys who aren’t necessarily part of the long term plan. The current regime of Billy Eppler and Steve Cohen appear to have unfortunately found this out the hard way.
The 2023 Mets have been nothing short of disappointing and what we have learned from Cohen’s “State of the Union” is that it isn’t all rainbows and unicorns at Citi Field this time around. Some past moves have caught up to them and it is something that has really hurt the franchise in 2023. “Daddy Steve” has already moved on from 2022 offseason acquisition Eduardo Escobar this month and if things don’t shape up soon, there will be others who will be moved and the team might have to start from scratch.